


The Phantom and the Knight

by savya398



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DC Animated Universe (Timmverse), Danny Phantom, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:29:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 20,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27332701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savya398/pseuds/savya398
Summary: After two years Danny Fenton finally felt like he was getting this whole superhero thing under control. So of course something had to come along and ruin everything.
Comments: 200
Kudos: 914





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> In blending the Danny Phantom and Young Justice world I have created a world where the rest of the world does not yet know about ghosts for reasons that will be explained later. Phantom Planet never happened except for Frostbite, and you can assume that any ghost attacks outside of Amity Park didn't happen or happened differently than in the show.
> 
> Chapters will be short, about 2,000 words each. I already have 5 completed chapters so I plan to post a chapter a week until I run out.

Danny Fenton groaned as he picked himself up from dirty alleyway. He'd just been blasted twenty feet into the welcoming surface of Little Italia's dumpster.

"Mr. Sorrentino is not going to be happy about that," Danny glanced at the massive dent he'd left in the restaurant owner's dumpster.

He shook himself off. Danny was so not in the mood for this. He had an English paper due tomorrow. The halfa had promised himself that he was going to do better academically this year or at least he was going to try. It was his Junior year, and Danny seriously needed to turn his grades around if he wanted to get into college.

If only the ghosts would let him.

"Ghost child, tonight will finally be the night I collect your pelt to adorn my fireplace. It will hang on my wall!" Skulker rounded the corner, his latest weapon glowing and pointing directly at Danny.

"Skulker, we've been doing this for two years. You're never going to get my 'pelt'. Whatever that means, and at this point I'm too afraid to actually ask. So can we please just call it night? I have a paper due tomorrow, and I really need to finish it," Danny grumbled, going intangible so that all of the gross substances from the dumpster would just drop off him.

"No, I will never back down from a fight. Our battles continue to aid in advancing myself, and eventually I will defeat you!" Skulker cried.

"Ugh, fine, let's just get this over with quickly," Danny sighed and launched himself at the ghostly hunter.

He threw several powerful ectoblasts at Skulker in rapid succession. The ghostly hero then followed it up with a sharp summersaulting kick to the hunter's head. He knocked Skulker's mask free, and yanked the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter free from his metal armor.

"No!" Skulker's tiny green form shrieked as Danny sucked him into the Fenton Thermos.

"Now for the more difficult task: English," Danny lifted into the air, and flew towards home.

Fenton Works was just as large and outlandish as it always was. Parts had been altered and updated as his parents made advancements in their tech. His parents were still obsessed with ghosts but at the very least they weren't trying to murder his alter ego anymore. They'd, very reluctantly, come to accept that Phantom was on their side, or at least they decided to get rid of the other ghosts haunting Amity Park before they hunted down Phantom. It had only taken them a year and half to figure it out.

Danny phased through the house directly into his room. He set the thermos on his desk to be used once again for another day of ghost fighting and glanced in the mirror on his wall. Danny's ghostly form had grown and aged right along with his human one. The half ghost had noticed Plasmius was far more ghostly than Phantom. But apparently Danny didn't have anything to worry about. Phantom had only become more ghostly as he aged.

His once pale skin had gained a purple tint. It became darker and darker until his skin was a plum purple flecked with silver. Danny actually was rather found of it because his ghostly skin as it reminded him of outer space. It also made his white hair and glowing green eyes stand out more.

Danny's ghostly half also out grew his human side. Amity Park's hero had grown to be about six feet as a human but as a ghost he was nearly seven feet tall and Danny was still growing. He'd grown claws and fangs. His ears had sharpened into long tapered points, and his facial features also sharpened to more inhuman proportions, which had the added benefit of distancing his facial features from Danny Fenton. No one would make the connection between Phantom and Danny Fenton slowly based on appearance.

Luckily the more drastic physical changes seemed to have finished even if Danny as Phantom continued to grow taller. Equally lucky was that the changes had happened slowly over the last two years so that the town's people of Amity Park didn't think he was an entirely knew ghost. For as it stood now Danny was kind of scary now.

The white rings passed over him, returning him to his human form. Danny no longer had to shout out his change. He'd learned how to switch back and forth silently, which he thought made him seem more mature and powerful; although, he still liked to shout out 'Going Ghost' for fun every now and then.

He grabbed his laptop, and settled on his bed. Danny opened up the document where he had saved his partially finished essay and a webpage. He alternated between actually typing and getting sucked into articles and videos that were clearly click bait. But Danny suddenly discovered he had a very high interest in celebrities who could juggle, Bruce Wayne's latest extreme sport disaster, and whatever other nonsense those pages could spew out.

Anything was better than actually writing his paper.

Danny managed to wrap things up around 1:30 in the morning. It wasn't the greatest paper but at least it was finished, and he was going to be able to get several decent hours of sleep. Over the last two years he'd learned how to function on only a couple of hours of sleep a night.

Even before he became half-ghost his sleep schedule growing up hadn't exactly been consistent. His parents had pulled Danny and Jazz out at all hours of the night to hunt ghosts when they were still young.

The next morning Danny got up, and made himself some toast. He had to fight the toaster, and give it a little ectoblast but that was just part of his normal, everyday routine at this point. Like most mornings he ate alone. His parents had already left for the labs to work on their latest project. The Fentons free-lanced for Axion Labs now, which provided a steadier income but meant they were out of the house a lot more.

Jazz was in college. She had gotten into Yale, and was studying to become psychologist. Danny was surprised by how much he missed his older sister. The black haired boy thought he'd be happy not to have her constantly nagging him. Danny had never realized how much she did around the house or how much she supported him until she was gone. Jazz called a lot to check in on him, and she came home for holidays but it wasn't the same.

Danny might have been lonely if it wasn't for his best friends.

The blue-eyed boy quickly navigated his way through the halls of Casper High School until he caught sight of the familiar figure of his best friend. The African American boy still wore his red beret even though he had ditched his glasses for contacts. Danny was just impressed that Tucker hadn't lost it in all the ghost scuffles they'd been in.

"Hey, man!" Tucker greeted as Danny joined him at their lockers.

"Hey, Tucker," Danny smiled.

"Who did Phantom have to face off against last night?" Tucker looked up from his phone.

"Skulker," Danny sighed.

"That dude just won't give up!"

"Who won't give up?" Sam asked as she joined them.

"Skulker," Danny and Tucker answered at the same time.

"Say no more," Sam rolled her eyes. Two years hadn't changed Sam's Goth style, and Danny doubted she would ever be someone to wear bright colors. Her jet black hair had grown to her shoulders, and she no longer wore a it in a small ponytail. "Were you able to finish your paper?"

"Yeah, it's probably not that great," Danny shrugged.

"I'm sure it's fine. You're smarter than you give yourself credit for Danny," Sam insisted.

Danny felt himself flush. "Thanks, Sam."

"Anytime, Dan—"

"Hey, Fen-turd," Dash cut Sam off when the large blonde shoved Danny in his locker as he walked by.

The football player was still incapable of just walking by Danny like a normal human being. Danny now being slightly taller and nearly as broad as the blonde boy didn't deter the football player in the slightest from bullying Danny. Dash Baxter always had to make sure he insulted or shoved Danny Fenton. Sometimes he liked to do both. It was almost like a compulsion for the other teen.

The irony of Dash loving Phantom was not lost on Danny.

"You're so original, Dash," Sam glared at the football player.

Tucker helped Danny pick up his things.

Dash didn't seem to care that he hadn't come up with an original insult since freshman year. The football player just laughed and continued on down the hallway with his group of friends.

"Let's just get to class," Danny rolled his eyes.

Dash's little comments and shoves no longer bothered him as much as they once did. He had more important things going on in his life, and Danny had certainly gotten some payback over the years.

Over the past two years Danny had begun exploring further and further into the Ghost Zone. He discovered it was less of a realm of the dead and more of a dimension between dimensions. Most of the older beings that lived there like Pandora and Frostbite referred to it as the Never Ending Realms or the Infinite Realms. Danny could understand because so far he hadn't found an end to the place.

Some of the ghosts weren't actually ghosts but beings created from the energy of the Realm like Undergrowth and Vortex or they were created from concepts like the Fright Knight. They, like Frostbite and Pandora, had never been human. Other ghosts were spirits of deceased humans who's spirits had drawn energy from the Realms because of their own tragic deaths or pure will. They were reborn as ghosts from the energy of the Realm like Ember and Johnny 13.

The rest of the school day passed without any ghostly interference. He turned his paper in to Mr. Lancer who looked stunned Danny was actually handing something in on time without any rips or burns.

Danny, Sam, and Tucker went Danny's house after school. The teenagers preferred his house since it lacked adult supervision, and meant they could discuss Realm and ghost related things without worrying about being overheard. They worked on homework, and reviewed the Ghost Zone/Realm database. Tucker had created the database. They had profiles on all of the beings Danny had encountered, and were slowly building a map of the Ghost Zone. Not that the map helped since everything liked to move around the place all of the time.

"Pandora's realm moved closer to Frostbite's," Danny explained from his last visit to the Never Ending Realms.

Tucker made the corrections.

"Danny, can you come down here please?" his mom's call pulled his attention away from Tucker's tablet, which was projecting a holographic image of the Ghost Zone.

"Yeah, just a minute," Danny called back.

He clambered out of his room. Tucker and Sam joined him in going downstairs.

Danny's parents were waiting for him in the living room. Both of them wore blinding smiles. His dad was practically bouncing in excitement.

"Dan-o, Sam, Tucker!" Jack cried their names.

"Hi, sweetie. Hello Sam and Tucker. How was school?" Maddie beamed at them all.

"Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Fenton. School was school," Tucker greeted back.

Sam echoed the greeting.

"We have some very exciting news to share with you, Dan-o," Jack shouted.

"What it is?" Danny frowned, glancing between his clearly thrilled parents.

"This is something we need to discuss as a family, Danny," his mom glanced to his friends.

"I have to be home early anyway. It's meatloaf night. Bye, Danny. Bye Fentons," Tucker waved.

"Bye, Danny," Sam waved, and followed Tucker out of the house.

With his friends gone him mom and dad ushered him to sit on the couch while they sat across from him.

"We have been awarded a substantial amount of funding to go and study ghosts in Peru!" Maddie exclaimed.

"What?" Danny stared at his parents in confusion.

"For two whole years!" Jack continued, giving in to his desire to bounce up and down. His very large father bouncing up and down in his chair caused the picture frames to rattle on the walls.

"What?" it seemed to be the only word Danny was capable of saying.

"I know, isn't it exciting! We've wanted to explore the ectoplasmic energy there for years and now we've finally got the chance. We leave in a month," his mom gushed.

"A month!? Wait, does that mean we're moving to Peru?" Danny was gaping at his parents.

"Well, we are but you don't have to, sweetheart, if you don't want to. Vlad offered—"

"Vlad?" Danny instantly knew something wasn't right about this if Amity Park's mayor was even slightly involved.

"Yes, Vladdie's the one funding the expedition. Wasn't that great of him!" Jack nodded eagerly.

"What did Vlad offer?" Danny's stomach churned and he knew he wasn't going to like whatever the Fruitloop had offered.

"He said you could live with him while we're in Peru so you don't have to be uprooted from school and your friends. We'll be home for holidays of course, and we can video chat all the time. Unless, you'd like to come with us? We would love to have you join us," his mom smiled brightly at him.

"You can help us with our research!" Jack boomed.

Danny had to rein in the urge to pull his hair out. Vlad had done this on purpose. Danny was sure of it. His parents had always wanted to explore other countries for ghostly energy but they had never had the money to actually do it. The Fruitloop had presented them with an opportunity they couldn't refuse all so he could get his hands on Danny. The Mayor of Amity Park had been trying to get Danny to become his apprentice for years, and it seemed Vlad had finally come up with a way to achieve his goal.

Danny would rather go live in Peru and only visit his friends occasionally than live with Vlad Masters. But then his thoughts turned to the portal. What would happen if Danny wasn't here to stop all the ghosts coming through? Peru was a long way for him to fly. And Vlad knew Danny couldn't give up protecting Amity Park.

Damn him.


	2. Chapter 2

"That sucks, Danny. What are you going to do?" Tucker asked.

The moment the conversation with his parents was over he'd run up to his room to call Sam and Tucker to tell them about what had happened.

"I told them I would stay with Vlad," Danny flopped back onto his bed. He stared up at his ceiling at the glow-in-the-dark stars, and remembered a time when he wanted nothing more than to be an astronaut. Those had been simpler times.

"What? Danny, you can't do that. Who knows what crazy things Vlad has planned for you once you actually live with him," Sam cried.

"I know it's exactly what he wants but what else am I supposed to do? I can't actually go to Peru for two years."

"Yeah, that's very convenient timing," Tucker commented.

"It's because Danny will only be a minor for two more years, and then Vlad won't be able to get his crummy hands on him," Sam groused. "Is Vlad going to have temporary guardianship of you while your parents are gone?"

Danny groaned. "I hadn't even thought of that. He must have to right? My parents will be out of the country so they can't go to parent/teacher conferences or anything."

"I would definitely ask your parents that before you make your final decision, man. That Fruitloop with actual legal custody of you is asking for trouble," whatever videogame Tucker was playing went off in the background.

"Yeah, I couldn't agree more."

"Maybe you could stay with me or Tucker?" Sam offered.

"I don't know if my parents would go for that. Sorry, man," Tucker apologized.

"I'll ask my parents then," Sam stated resolutely.

"I understand, Tucker, and thank you, Sam," Danny certainly would have felt better about living with one of his best friends than his nemesis. But he couldn't imagine that Sam would be successful. Her parents weren't exactly fans of Danny. "Anyway, I'm going to call it a night. There's no ghostly activity, and I'm going to take full advantage. Goodnight, see you both tomorrow."

"Night, Danny," Sam chimed.

"Goodnight, man," Tucker called.

Danny got ready for bed, and crawled into bed. His supposed good night sleep wasn't that great. The half ghost's thoughts were far too preoccupied about whatever plot Vlad was cooking up for him.

The next morning Danny followed his normal morning routine. He'd come to the conclusion that he needed to confront Vlad, and Danny would do exactly that after school.

Danny shared his plan with Sam and Tucker of course. The two of them promised to provide back up. Not that Danny thought Vlad would actually do anything since the Fruitloop was so close to getting his hands on Danny. Sam had talked to her parents about Danny living with them but they had shut down that idea.

"Check out this new fight between Wonder Woman and Cheetah," Tucker shoved his phone in Danny's face.

They were at lunch, and his friends were trying to keep his mind off his impending confrontation with Vlad.

"Awesome," Danny glanced at the shaky footage some brave cameraman had risked life and limb to get.

Superhero fights didn't hold the same allure as they had before he became Phantom. But he did like watching them to improve his own skills. Frostbite and Pandora had helped train him in using his powers, and some fighting skills. Not to mention all of the time he'd spent in the basement practicing with Tucker and Sam. Danny was always interested in learning more. He'd come to realize the better his skills the quicker and more efficiently he could end a fight.

"Just awesome? Dude, Wonder Woman is the most incredible hero in the entire Justice League," Tucker sighed.

"You only say that because of how small her armor is," Sam took another bite of her salad.

"You're just jealous you can't pull off a sword like she can," Tucker sniffed.

"The Justice League isn't that great. I mean look at all the times they completely ignored us when Amity Park was in mortal peril," Sam grumbled.

"I think we did an okay job handling things," Danny shrugged.

"Yeah, you did a really good job protecting the town. But some back up would have been nice. They go everywhere else," Sam argued.

"Maybe they just figured Phantom could handle it and they had bigger fish to fry," Tucker was still scrolling through his phone looking for Justice League related news.

The Justice League's lack of involvement was a familiar point of contention with all of the residents of Amity Park. The people of Amity Park had tried to get the attention of the League's heroes many times before. But no one outside of Amity Park would believe them about the ghosts that overran their town. They had stopped trying when Pariah Dark sucked the town in to the Ghost Zone, and still no one had believed the people of Amity Park about the ghosts. It certainly helped Danny's own popularity with people since he was the only one consistently saving them.

"Right," Sam was not a fan of the Justice League.

"Whoa, look at this," Tucker turned his phone to Danny.

" _Gotham Doctor Switching Babies at Birth_ ," Danny read the article.

"That's just click bait, Tucker," Sam rolled her eyes.

"No, this is from the Gotham Gazette by Vicki Vale herself. I pulled up the paper to see what Batman was up to, and this was on the front page of today's paper," Tucker turned his phone to Sam.

Sam began to read the article. "Delivery doctor, Dr. Samuel van Wagner, is suspected of switching more than two hundred infants in his thirty year tenure at Gotham General Hospital. This tragic and unbelievable evidence was only brought to light after Dr. van Wagner's recent death. His relatives were cleaning out his office and stumbled upon journals detailing Dr. van Wagner's atrocious crimes. The FBI has stepped in to take the case off the hands of Gotham PD. There are more than two hundred families involved in the case, and many have left Gotham while some are even no longer in the country. But have no fear readers, the Gotham Gazette will be following this story very closely. We will be providing constant updates as this story continues to unfold."

"Wow, at least someone is having a worse day than I am," Danny muttered.

"Danny," Sam chided.

"Sorry, I just need to have something to get my mind off the Fruitloop's nefarious plot," Danny dropped his head into his hands.

"School's almost over, and then you can go confront Vlad," Sam comforted.

"Yeah," Danny sighed. Because confronting Vlad was going to solve all of his problems.

School went by quickly. Danny only missed part of Chemistry class because of Ectopusses. But the nebulous blobs of green energy didn't even challenge him anymore.

Once the school day was over the three friends walked through town to the Mayor's Office.

"Mayor Masters is expecting you, Mr. Fenton. Just you, Mr. Fenton," Vlad's secretary eyed Sam and Tucker pointedly.

"We'll wait here," Sam sat down in one of the chairs sitting in the hallway.

Tucker settled in beside her, and pulled out his phone.

"Perfect. Right this way, Mr. Fenton," the secretary opened the office door, and waved Danny forward primly.

"Thanks," Danny muttered.

Danny squared his shoulders and entered Vlad's office. The billionaire had certainly spruced up the place in his time as mayor. The office was much fancier than something a small town mayor could have afforded.

"Daniel, so good to see you. Come have a seat," Vlad waved the black haired boy towards one of the comfy chairs in front of his desk. "Would you like any refreshments?"

"No, I don't want any refreshments," Danny growled as he dropped into the sofa chair.

"Then what brings you here, Little Badger? Can I assist you with a Realm or Ghost related problem?" Vlad smiled sweetly at Danny.

"You know why I'm here, you Fruitloop."

"Ah yes, the expedition to Peru I'm funding for your parents. Do you plan on joining them in their journey?" Vlad inquired oh so innocently.

"You know I can't," Danny glared at the silver haired man not in the least bit convinced by the innocent act.

"Oh, then I suppose dear sweet Maddie has informed you of my offer to live with me?"

"She did. So what do you want, Vlad?" Danny crossed his arms across his chest.

"What I've always wanted, Danny, the chance to guide you and help you learn how to expand your abilities," Vlad waved his hands grandly.

"I've done just fine without you. I have friends in the Never Ending Realm unlike you," Danny smirked.

Vlad's smile tightened. The older halfa had burned a lot of bridges in the Ghost Zone. He'd bossed around far too many ghosts without compensating them.

"I will have you know I've made other friends, Daniel. Powerful friends, and you can join me at their side. These friends of mine and even the Justice League have limited knowledge of the Infinite Realms or ghosts. The Justice League have nothing in which to counter ghosts. We could destroy them before they even know what's happening," Vlad's eyes glinted malevolently.

"Since you haven't gotten the hint yet I'll say it again: I have zero interest in destroying anybody least of all people who actually protect the world," Danny spat.

"It's only a matter of time before my wish wears off, and then our little town will be in the spotlight. Who knows the kinds of people that will descend here? The world is a very dangerous place, and I can't protect you forever, Little Badger."

"What wish?" Danny ground out.

"Why I made a little wish to Desiree to protect Amity Park from prying outside influences. I wanted the town's ghostly events kept a secret from the outside world. Desiree was only happy to oblige. The wish makes it so no one outside of Amity Park believes the ghosts here actually exist, and that the ghosts themselves do not leave the town's borders. It destroys photos and videos or makes them blurry, and effects the minds of those who do not live in Amity Park so that they are incapable of believing there are ghosts here," Vlad smirked.

"You're the reason no ones ever come here to help us?" Danny demanded.

"Yes, while it kept those who would help away, it also kept those who might harm away as well. I did it for you, Little Badger. There are some terrible and very powerful people in this world who could have truly hurt you in your early days. I wanted to protect you while you were still developing and learning to control your powers."

"No, you just wanted to keep me all to yourself to make sure you were the only influence in my life. You wanted to be my mentor instead of me turning to the Justice League for help," Danny growled.

"I must admit that thought may have also crossed my mind. However, the main reason was to protect you, dear boy," Vlad insisted.

"Whatever," Danny rolled his eyes. "So why tell me about the wish now? How long has it been around?"

"I went to Desiree shortly after your trip to Wisconsin, and Harriet Chin wanted to share the existence of ghosts with the world."

"That was really your fault. You were the one who possessed my dad in front of her," Danny glared.

"Yes, it wasn't the best decision I've ever made," Vlad murmured.

"You can say that again," the black haired boy grumbled.

"Anyway, the wish will be fading within the next couple of months, and I'm afraid it cannot be renewed. Desiree only barely managed it the first time as it requires an immense amount of power to alter the perceptions of the entire world outside of Amity Park. Soon our little town will be under intense scrutiny when the world realizes ghosts, and the Never Ending Realm actually exist. I want you to be safely in my custody."

"So that's why you suddenly decided to fund the expedition of my parents' dreams, huh?"

"Indeed," the Fruitloop inclined his head.

"Right, just because I might live with you doesn't mean I would just become your heir or your apprentice or whatever is you want from me," Danny stood up. He was so done with this conversation. The black haired boy didn't even know why he bothered coming to talk to Vlad.

"You'll need me, Daniel, once the wish has ended. You'll be vulnerable to the rest of the world without me to help you navigate it," the silver haired man criticized.

"We'll see," Danny stalked out of the office.

"How'd it go?" Tucker peered up into Danny's face as he approached.

"I'll tell you everything but let's just get out of here."

Danny told them about what Vlad had said about the wish hiding the town as the three of them walked home.

"It makes sense. I mean even when there was video of ghosts no one believed us, and it's strange that none of the ghosts ever attempted to try and spread chaos away from Amity Park," Sam murmured.

"Do you think he's right about forces moving into Amity Park once the wish ends?" Tucker questioned.

"I don't know but I definitely think I should stay in Amity Park in case they do," Danny sighed.

"Unless, Vlad just wants you to think there's some evil forces at work so you will stay," Sam pointed out.

"I have two weeks to make a decision," Danny just hoped he made the right one.


	3. Chapter 3

“I can’t tell you what to do, Danny. You’re going to have to make this decision yourself,” Jazz told him gently.

Three days had passed since the announcement that his parents were leaving for Peru. The adult Fentons had begun packing up the house, and putting all of their affairs in order to prepare for the trip. Danny was still wavering over whether or not to go with them.

“Yeah, I know. How are your classes going?” Danny knew he had to stay and guard the portal but he wasn’t sure he could survive the annoyance of living with Vlad.

Listening to Jazz talk about her classes was soothing, and got his mind off of his current problem.

“You could always just try living with Vlad, and if he becomes too much you can change your mind anytime. I don’t think he would actually hurt you, little brother.”

“Just annoy me.”

“Maybe the threat of you leaving will even dissuade Vlad from some of his more ridiculous attempts,” Jazz advised.

“Yeah, that might actually work,” Danny murmured.

If Vlad really wanted him there then Danny threatening to go to Peru should be enough to make the Fruitloop back off.

“If it doesn’t then I’ll give him a piece of my mind.”

“Ooo, that will really scare him,” Danny teased.

“Danny, could you come down here please?” Maddie’s voice called.

“Jazz, I gotta go. Mom’s calling me.”

“All right, Danny, it was nice talking to you. Be safe and call me if you need anything.”

“I will. Bye Jazz.”

“Bye, Danny.”

Danny ended the call and exited his room. He went down the stairs, and found both of his parents in the living room with two unfamiliar people in suits. His mom’s eyes were red rimmed and his dad had an arm wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

“Hi,” Danny gave an uncertain wave.

What was going on here? These agents had obviously told his parents something upsetting. It must have been very upsetting because it took quite a bit to make Maddie Fenton cry.

“Come in, sweetheart, there’s something we need to talk about,” Maddie waved him towards the empty space beside her on the couch.

Danny hesitantly settled next to his mom, and his blue eyes turned to the professional looking pair in the armchairs.

“Hello, Danny, I’m Agent Sanders and this is my partner Agent Ramirez. We are with the FBI,” the middle aged blonde woman introduced herself and then her dark haired male partner.

“FBI?” Danny gaped.

“Yes, Danny, we are part of the taskforce involved in the van Wagner investigation,” Agent Ramirez.

“Van Wagner… why does that name sound familiar?” Danny wracked his brain for where he’d heard that name before.

“You may have heard about the situation with Dr. van Wagner in the Gotham Gazette. The paper has been covering the story quite intently since the information leaked to the public a few days ago,” Agent Sanders prompted.

It hit Danny. “Dr. van Wagner is the baby switching doctor who worked at that big hospital in Gotham. My friends and I skimmed the first article that came out.”

“Yes, that about sums up the situation. It has been proven that the late Dr. van Wagner was switching children for three decades. The things Dr. van Wagner did were his own misguided attempts to create real life Nature versus Nurture experiments. He kept very detailed notes on the children he switched. The doctor had names, dates, and information on the children’s progress,” Agent Sanders nodded.

“Okay, so why are you here?” Danny’s eyes darted between the agents and his parents.

A cry broke passed his mom’s lips, and her head dropped into her hands. His dad rubbed her back but he looked just as upset as Maddie did. Neither of them looked like they were capable of answering Danny’s question.

“The FBI has set up teams in order to investigate the information we have uncovered, and we’ve slowly started working our way through the list of names. We have discovered over two hundred families that have been affected by Dr. van Wagner’s actions. Your name and your parents’ names were found in one of his notebooks,” Agent Ramirez explained gently.

“What? But… was I even born in Gotham?” he turned to his parents in shock.

“You were born in Gotham. We were there studying some ghostly activity at the time. We moved after you were born because it just got too dangerous to live there,” his mom lifted her tear streaked face from her hands. Her purple eyes were carefully tracing Danny’s face with an intensity she never had before.

His heart racing he turned his attention back to the agents. “So you think I might be one of those babies he switched at birth?”

“Yes, there is a very large possibility that this is the case. Your name and your parents’ names are listed in Dr. van Wagner’s journals. The doctor recorded switching you with another couple’s child, and has been keeping updates on your life. We are here to collect a DNA sample from you, and your parents to find out if what Dr. van Wagner claimed in his journals is correct,” Agent Sanders pulled a DNA swab kit out of the briefcase they had brought with them.

“Can we know the name of the other family who may have also been involved?” Maddie questioned quietly.

“I’m afraid we can’t divulge that information until we have concrete evidence. We have contracted with a private DNA lab to help expedite the genetic comparisons. In taking a swab today we should have the results back in two or three days. Another team of agents is speaking with the other family, and collecting their samples,” Agent Ramirez answered.

“Do you have any more questions?” Agent Sanders asked.

Danny was still too stunned to think of anything else, and it looked like his parents felt the same.

The agents took cheek swabs from all three of them. His parents had to sign some paperwork, and then the agents left with a promise to get back to them as soon as they got the results with the next steps.

“How are you feeling, sweetheart?” his mom asked once the three of them were alone.

“I don’t know. It might not be true so no use getting all worked about it before we have to, right?” Danny smiled weakly at his parents.

“Oh honey, no matter what happens you’ll always be our son,” Maddie swept him in to a strong hug.

“What your mom said, Dan-o,” Jack wrapped both of them in a bone-crunching embrace.

The three of them stayed like that for a long time.

///

Bruce Wayne watched as Alfred escorted the two FBI agents from his office. The black haired man took several deep breaths before he was capable of unclenching his fists.

He stood and made his way swiftly through the clock and down into the Cave.

Batman had been away from Gotham when Dr. van Wagner’s story broke. He had yet to have the chance to investigate the situation as he had been working on the latest lead on the Light. The Light’s movements took precedence. The organization had brainwashed the entire League, and purposely framed six of their members, Batman included.

The Dark Knight had not been happy being stuck on trial on Rimbor while an alien race attempted to take control of Earth. It was too bad Kaldur had to blow his cover in order to destroy the alliance between the Reach and the Light. The League needed another spy within the Light’s ranks.

After his little visit from the FBI, Batman knew he had to make this case one of his top priorities since Bruce Wayne was personally involved. Bruce’s name and Bruce’s son’s name were found in Dr. van Wagner’s files.

Batman quickly hacked in to the FBI to see what information the agency had.

The FBI had come to inform him that he and his son were possible victims of Dr. van Wagner’s. To prove it they needed a DNA sample. Bruce was able to convince them to use Wayne Enterprises to complete the DNA testing. Bruce just had to call up the Head of the FBI and offer up Wayne Enterprises to do all of the DNA testing in the van Wagner case for free. The Head of the FBI was quite eager to accept free DNA testing as they were going to have to conduct quite a few tests before they straightened out the mess the Gotham General doctor had created.

The FBI also wanted to exhume the body of Bruce’s son for DNA analysis. Bruce could have refused but he knew it was necessary to get to the truth of the matter. At least with his agreement Bruce had a bit more control of the situation, and they would only be taking a quick sample when they opened the casket. They wouldn’t be taking the body.

Batman needed to know if the infant he buried was his son.

It had been early in his career as Batman when he first met Talia al Ghul. She had wanted to change her ways, get away from the League of Shadows and her father, or at least that’s what she told Bruce. Talia had certainly been convincing. They had fallen in love, and before they knew it Talia was pregnant.

Bruce had been terrified and excited at the prospect of being a father. Talia had also seemed happy at the idea of becoming a mother. During the pregnancy they had been a normal, happy young couple. The two of them had planned for a home birth with Dr. Leslie Thompkins supporting them. But when Talia went into labor the Daughter of the Demon experienced some unforeseen complications. They had no choice but to rush to the nearest hospital.

Talia eventually delivered the baby but their baby boy was in distress. The doctor on call, Dr. van Wagner, had to remove their son in an attempt to save the baby’s life. The doctor hadn’t been successful or at least he had said he wasn’t. Bruce had been in too much turmoil to even question it. They had seen the body after all.

Bruce and Talia’s relationship hadn’t survived the death of their baby. She left him to return to the League of Shadows. Batman had seen her a couple of times over the years. They had even reconnected briefly a few times. But the opportunity to be something more had slipped through their fingers when they had lost their child.

However, as it turned out they may not have lost their child. Talia and Bruce’s son may have been taken from them.

The FBI agents had asked about Talia or the alias she has used while dating Bruce, Miranda Tate. Understandably the FBI hadn’t been able to track down Miranda Tate considering she didn’t actually exist. Bruce hadn’t been able to help them in that particular area beyond sharing that she had just dropped off their second child with him two months ago.

It was the cover story he’d sold to the press with Damian’s sudden appearance. There was no reason to make up a new alias when it was simple enough to use the one Talia used previously the last time she was in Gotham’s public eye.

Bruce had no idea where Talia was. It had been over a decade since he had seen Talia. But two months ago a boy had turned up in Gotham. The boy had started attacking criminals with a sword, and after a confrontation between him and Dick it turned out he was Bruce’s son with Talia.

Damian was their second child. Bruce had never been informed of his birth. Damian wasn’t the child they had lost. But a child conceived from one of their brief reconciliations. Talia had purposely kept Damian’s existence from Bruce, and that enraged him. The two of them had lost their first son or believed they had, and then Talia had kept Damian a secret. Bruce still wouldn’t know if it hadn’t been for Damian defying Talia and Ra’s.

Damian had sought Bruce out, slipping away from his mother and the League of Shadows. Talia had shown up in Gotham to get Damian back but his son had chosen to remain with him. Talia had reluctantly left, and Bruce knew once this new information leaked to the press it was likely to bring her right back.

It was the last thing Bruce wanted when Damian was just beginning to make progress. He’d even been considering letting the ten-year-old to start going out as Robin like he so desperately wanted.

Batman was just happy that Nightwing, Batgirl, and Robin were on covert missions for the Team while Damian was busy with the training exercises Bruce had given him. He didn’t want them here to see him struggle to come to grip with his emotions. This discovery felt too raw especially with Jason’s death only two years ago, and the discovery of Damian only two months ago.

“Sir, do you need anything?” Alfred’s placid voice didn’t quite hide the butler’s concern.

“No, Alfred, I’m fine. I will still be going out tonight. Riddler has something planned at the docks tonight that I need to monitor,” Batman sorted efficiently through the FBI files.

Dr. van Wagner’s motivation for switching infants was to gather data to answer the question to the age old Nature versus Nurture debate. The doctor chose to switch the babies of couples with different backgrounds for example low income and high income or the child of socialites and the child of scientists. Van Wagner followed the families and the children throughout their lives to the best of his ability of course. Some he eventually lost track of.

“Of course, Master Bruce, I’ll ready your suit,” Alfred turned towards the armory.

The Dark Knight easily located his own file. The FBI labeled each individual file with the family names of the switched children. His own file was under Wayne/Fenton. Unfortunately, it turned out Dr. van Wagner’s files had all been handwritten. The FBI was slow in scanning the files into digital format. At least Batman had the name of the family who were the ones that were suspected to have had their child switched with Batman’s own.

The FBI had basic information on the Fenton family. Bruce read through it before conducting his own research on the Fentons. They were scientists who focused exclusively on ghosts. Batman didn’t quite understand why. The Fentons, especially Madeline, were very intelligent. They could have very easily gotten positions at a respectable research lab like Star Labs but they had chosen to study something the rest of the world didn’t believe in.

Batman was aware of the existence of a ghost. He had met Boston Brand aka Deadman on several occasions when he’d run into the stranger elements of the world. But as far as Batman was concerned Brand was an extenuating circumstance as a goddess had given the former trapeze artist his ghostly status.

There was also the incident several years ago that Zatanna and Artemis had reported to him about Harm and Secret. They were again an isolated incident and did not reflect the strange reports that came out of Amity Park. The ghosts of Amity Park were outlandish colors, and were frankly ridiculous. Why in the world there be a Box Ghost?

Dr. van Wagner had tried to find families who looked somewhat similar to each other and of course who were in the hospital at the same time as one another. The Fentons had been delivering their own son on the same day, and in the same wing of Gotham General as Talia and Bruce.

Pictures showed that Jack Fenton superficially resembled Bruce Wayne. They were both tall, muscular men with black hair and blue eyes. Madeline Fenton didn’t resemble Talia in the slightest. Madeline was red haired, pale skinned, and had deep blue almost purple eyes. Talia was of Asian and Arabic descent with dark brown hair, olive skin, and emerald eyes. But Batman supposed Dr. van Wagner couldn’t have been too choosey when switching the infants.

Pictures of Daniel Fenton were far more interesting. Batman ran the social media pictures through his facial recognition software. The results came back with several hits for himself, Talia, Damian, and even Ra’s al Ghul.

The boy was sixteen, and was growing in to his adult features. Daniel Fenton had the same shade of blue eyes as Bruce’s mother, which meant they were the same color as Bruce’s own. The shape of Daniel’s eyes was closer to Talia’s almond. Daniel’s nose, jaw, and ears all came from Bruce. While his cheekbones, chin, and ears belonged to Talia. He looked like an older version of Damian with Bruce’s eyes instead of Talia’s emerald green.

The full body shots showed that the boy was on the taller side with the software predicting Daniel was somewhere around six feet tall.

Batman didn’t have the concrete DNA evidence in front of him but the pictures were enough proof for him.

His son was alive. Bruce just didn’t know what he wanted to do about it.


	4. Chapter 4

Three days passed before the Fentons heard anything from the FBI.

His parents and Danny had been tiptoeing around the subject. His mom had wanted to call off the trip but Danny had insisted they still plan as if they were going. He didn’t want to ruin this opportunity for them until they had official proof.

Danny had very reluctantly told Jazz, Sam, and Tucker about was going on. Jazz had wanted to come home but again Danny convinced her to stay at school at least until they knew something for certain. Sam and Tucker promised to be there for him no matter what ended up happening. The three of them had all been very supportive but no one quite knew what to make of the situation.

The idea that Danny might not be a Fenton had never crossed anyone’s mind; although, looking back that wasn’t entirely true. There had been a few instances over the years where people had asked about the Fentons’ ancestors or even wondered if Danny might be adopted. Danny had always had more of an olive skin tone than the fairer complexion of his parents and sister. More than a few people had thought Danny had some Asian ancestry.

But it was easy enough to brush off the comments. It had rarely happened, and Danny thought he resembled his dad enough that it didn’t bother him. Or at least Danny thought he had looked like his dad. They certainly both had black hair and blue eyes. It didn’t matter if they didn’t look exactly alike, and Danny wasn’t as big-boned as his father was.

Now the black haired boy was questioning everything.

“Johnny, I really don’t want to get into this tonight,” Danny as Phantom hissed as he flew to catch up with Johnny 13’s motorcycle.

“You can’t catch me, Runt!”

“Who are you calling a runt? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m taller than you are now,” Danny taunted.

The greasy haired ghost glared at him, and revved his motorcycle.   
“Get him, Shadow!”

Danny barrel rolled out of the way of Johnny’s Shadow’s razor sharp claws all the while throwing a powerful green ectoblast at Johnny’s back tire. His blast struck its mark and blew out the bike’s back tire. Johnny couldn’t get control of his chopper and ended up flipping over the handlebars. The leather clad ghost skidded along the ground creating a huge furrow in the earth.

Meanwhile Johnny’s Shadow recovered from the ectoblast, and tried for a second attack. But Danny didn’t hold back and tossed an even more powerful blast at the Shadow knowing it could take the hit without any permanent damage. The black mass was disoriented, and Danny quickly sucked it up into the thermos. Phantom shot forward, and slammed a hard punch to Johnny’s jaw.

“Ow, Phantom, you didn’t have to hit me so hard. What’s up with you?” Johnny whined and rubbed his jaw.

“I told you I wasn’t in the mood tonight,” Danny pulled out the thermos.

“You sound like Kitty,” Johnny grumbled.

“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” the white haired ghost muttered.

“Oh come on, Phantom. It’s been forever since I’ve had a night out on the town by myself. Kitty is hanging out with Ember so I thought I’d have cruise all by myself,” Johnny pleaded.

“Uh huh, and maybe I would have let you have that little cruise if you hadn’t decided to try and pick up those girls,” Danny pressed the button, and sucked Johnny and his motorcycle into the thermos to join Johnny’s Shadow.

Phantom shot back up into the sky. He flew leisurely over Amity Park. It was easier to forget about his problems on the ground when he was in the air. Phantom flew until exhaustion threatened to forcibly return him to human form, and he headed home.

The next day his parents got the call that the FBI agents would be returning that afternoon with the results of their tests.

Danny was jittery all day, and could barely concentrate at school. Danny, Sam, and Tucker cancelled their plans to play DOOM after school. He promised to call his best friends once he learned the results of the testing.

The black haired boy attempted to do some of his homework but it was impossible to focus. He spent his time perusing the various superhero fan sites. Tucker was into them more than Danny was but he liked watching the Justice League fights. It was interesting to flip through the fan sites every so often to see the different theories.

Finally his mom called for him.

Agents Sanders and Ramirez had both returned. Greetings were exchanged but thankfully the small talk didn’t last too long. The agents could probably see just how anxious the Fentons were for the news. 

“We have the results from our genetic testing, and there’s no easy way to say this…” Agent Sanders trailed off looking very apologetic.

“We’ve had to do this several times already, and it has yet to get any easier. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton, Danny, we regret to inform you that all of you are victims of Dr. van Wagner’s. We have confirmed that Danny was switched at birth with another infant. He is not your biological son,” Agent Ramirez handed over the test results.

Jack and Maddie competently scanned through the results. Danny was too numb to even bother looking over the papers.

“I can’t believe this but the proof is right in front of my face, Jack,” Danny’s mom whispered, tears forming.

“I know, Maddie-cakes, I know,” his dad rubbed his mom’s shoulder.

His parents seemed too shell-shocked to ask so Danny took it upon himself to do it for them. “So where’s the real Danny Fenton?”

“Sweetheart, you are the real Danny Fenton even if you don’t share our DNA,” his mom and dad wrapped their arms around him.

His parents may not be the most observant of parents but at least they were sticking by him in this situation. “Thanks, mom.”

“Of course, honey,” Maddie gave him a squeeze then turned her attention back to the agents. “We would like to know who the other family is.”

“Yes, certainly and we’ve spoken with them. Or at least we have spoken with Danny’s biological father. We haven’t been able to locate your biological mother as she’s been out of the country for several years. Her name is Miranda Tate,” Agent Sanders explained.

“And his biological father?” Maddie prompted.

“Danny’s biological father is Bruce Wayne.”

“The billionaire!” Danny and Jack cried at the same time.

“Yes,” Agent Ramirez nodded. “And he is very interested in meeting Danny.”

“Bruce Wayne lost a child, a son, when he was younger. I remember it because the baby was born the same day as Danny in the same hospital, and I thought about how we almost lost Danny that day. He was having respiratory problems, and the doctor had to rush him out of our room to clear his airways,” Danny’s mom’s voice cracked.

“Yes, we are very sorry to inform you that your biological son did pass away that day. The body of Isaiah Wayne was exhumed in order to collect a DNA sample, and we were able to confirm that the infant was yours and your husband’s biological child,” Agent Ramirez gently explained.

Agent Sanders passed over more documentation. His mother’s hands trembled as she took the papers. Both his parents had tears streaking down their faces as they looked over the test results. Danny couldn’t imagine what they were going through. Yeah it was hard finding out his parents weren’t his biological parents but at least his birth parents were still alive. His parents were just finding out the son they had raised from infancy wasn’t their real son, and that their real son had died sixteen years ago.

“So what is going to happen in terms of custody?” his mom wiped away her tears, and squared her shoulders.

“We are strongly suggesting fifty-fifty custody between the families with children who are still minors for the best interest of the children. Several families have already begun legal proceedings over custody. The cases, as you can imagine, are being highly publicized in the media, and several of the cases have already turned nasty. Naturally most parents want the child they raised in addition to their biological child,” Agent Sanders was clearly distressed over the situation.

“Which obviously isn’t possible,” Maddie muttered.

“No, it’s not so you can imagine the strain and distress it is causing families. A couple of the families have begun slandering each other in attempt to gain custody of both children. Some of the children who were switched are adults now so there isn’t a need for a legal decision for custody. But many are still underage. Dr. van Wagner continued to deliver children right up until the heart attack that caused his death. We have over a hundred families with minor children, and more than half of them are already planning on going to court to fight for parental rights. Frankly it’s a mess,” Agent Ramirez rubbed his forehead tiredly.

“And traumatizing children who are already experiencing a traumatizing situation,” his mom added with a frown.

“Yes, which is why we’ve contracted with family counselors, and child psychologists if you are interested,” Agent Sanders offered.

“All right, thank you,” the red haired woman nodded. “What are our next steps?”

“We can only suggest sharing custody. We can’t make either family do anything. The final decision will be up to the families and the courts. There are social workers who are being assigned to individual cases to help support families during this time. The paperwork we have with us has the name and contact information of the social worker who has been assigned to your case,” Agent Ramirez pulled out more documents to hand over to the Fentons.

“Can we have Mr. Wayne’s contact information?” his mom asked.

“Yes, we can provide that to you as well. Here is Mr. Wayne’s personal number. He did say you could call him anytime,” Dr. Sanders offered a business card to Maddie.

“Does Mr. Wayne want custody of Danny? It’s certainly what I would have wanted if our positions were reversed.”

“As we said Mr. Wayne was very interested in meeting Danny. The issue of custody did not come up. I believe he was waiting to speak with the two of you,” Agent Ramirez answered.

“I only ask because Jack and I were actually planning a two-year research expedition to Peru. We were set to leave at the end of the month. We tried to get out of it—”

“Wait, you did? I thought I told you not to,” Danny frowned.

“Dan-o, we didn’t want to leave you at a time like this,” his dad pounded him on the back.

“But Vlad’s contract was ironclad,” Maddie’s eyes narrowed.

“Oh,” Danny was more than a little shocked that his parents had actually tried to get out of the trip of their dreams for him.

“Danny was going to live with a close family friend. This changes things obviously,” his mom glanced at Danny her hand clasping his tightly.

“Like you said it would probably be best if you get in touch with Mr. Wayne. Hopefully the three of you will be able to work something out. I know we’ve found Mr. Wayne to be very reasonable during this difficult process. He doesn’t seem quite like the person the media has portrayed him to be. He’s even adopted two boys. One passed away several years ago but the other is in the Police Academy I believe. Mr. Wayne has had guardianship of another boy for a year or so, and he recently found out he has another biological son who he now has custody of,” Agent Sanders explained.

“Thank you that information it is very helpful,” Maddie nodded her head.

“Do any of you have any other questions?” Agent Ramirez asked.

“No, not at the moment,” Maddie answered.

“Please call if you need anything else. Our job is complete. You gave us your statements about the night of your son’s birth during our first meeting. But if you think of anything else don’t be afraid to reach out. The social worker will be in touch with you.”

They said their goodbyes, and left Fenton Works behind.

Danny and his parents were left alone to deal with the fallout of the bomb that had been dropped on them. None of them were especially good at feelings, and this was a situation the Fentons were definitely ill equipped to deal with since Jazz was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

It had been a week since Danny had found out he wasn’t a Fenton by blood.

It was nearly time for his parents to leave for their two-year expedition. Vlad refused to let them out of their contract not that the billionaire knew why they wanted to get out of it just yet. This had made their decision to share custody of Danny with Bruce Wayne easy. Danny much preferred the idea of living with virtual stranger Bruce Wayne than living with Vlad Masters. Gotham wasn’t as far from Amity Park as Peru was. Danny could make the flight back to Amity Park in about an hour or less if he hustled. 

With the decision made his mom had been the one to finally make the call to Bruce Wayne. Maddie had explained the situation to Danny’s biological father, and the man had been more than willing to have Danny come live with him. Maddie likewise had gotten a good impression of Bruce, and felt more comfortable with Danny living with Bruce than with Vlad. The paperwork had been filed for Bruce Wayne to have custody of Danny. 

The ragged looking social worker who had been assigned to their case looked like she was going to breakdown in tears of relief at hearing the Fentons and the Waynes were solving their custody situation amicably and without going to court.

Danny could only imagine what she and the others involved in these switched at birth cases were going through. The more sensational ones were being covered in the media. The van Wagner cases were trending on multiple social media platforms. Thankfully no one had found out yet that Bruce Wayne was one of the ones affected. Danny could only imagine the riot that was going to cause, and he really wasn’t looking forward to the publicity.

Danny’s billionaire bio dad was flying over in his private jet to meet Danny Friday afternoon, which just happened to be tomorrow. Bruce was going to spend the weekend in Amity Park and then Danny would fly back with him to Gotham on Sunday morning.

Danny had yet to actually speak to his biological father. Every time his mom had been on the phone with Bruce Wayne working out the details of custody she had tried to hand the phone over to Danny so he could speak to the man. But Danny had always managed to weasel his way out of it by sprinting out of the room shouting some lame excuse.

It wasn’t the most mature of things to do. Danny should have at least tried to speak to his biological father before the man came to pick Danny up to live with him for the next two years.

Vlad had not yet been informed that Danny was not going to live with him. None of the Fentons were particularly interested in sharing that information with the mayor. His mom was still angry at Vlad for not letting them out of their contract, and Danny wasn’t about to make a special trip to tell the Fruitloop about his personal life.

Danny was looking forward to seeing the older halfa’s face when the man realized his little plot wasn’t going to get him custody of Danny. It was the one good thing to come out of this entire mess.

“Are you all packed?” Sam asked him during lunch.

It was Danny’s second to last lunch at Casper High, and Danny was just trying to take in all of the sights and sounds. He was fairly certain he wasn’t going to miss this place.

Paulina, Kwan, Dash, Star, and several others were at their regular table laughing at other kids, and tripping up the younger students. He had long since gotten over his crush on Paulina, something he was grateful for. Valerie was sitting by herself. Sometimes she sat with Danny and his friends. Valerie didn’t hate his alter ego’s guts anymore but they weren’t exactly best friends either, and sometimes she liked her space. At least she too had realized she was better off without the popular crowd. 

Danny didn’t think he was going to miss Casper High. The only thing he would miss was seeing his two best friends every day.

The dark haired boy would be transferring to Gotham Academy. It was where Gotham’s wealthy elite went. Danny was nervous about attending. He was already picturing people like Paulina and Dash but snobbier and with access to more money.

“Yeah, I almost have everything packed into boxes. The only things I haven’t packed away are the essentials I’ll need for the weekend,” Danny answered.

“I’m kind of jealous that you’re moving to Gotham. It’s so dark and gloomy there,” Sam sighed dreamily.

“Yeah, but its also filled with psychopaths. I’d be way more excited that you’ve got unrestricted access to Wayne Tech! Not to mention you’re a billionaire now,” Tucker exclaimed.

“I’m not a billionaire. My biological father is,” Danny rolled his eyes.

“It’s too bad you’re getting out of here before everyone knows you’re a billionaire. People would be kissing the ground you walk on,” Tucker murmured.

“People know I’m a millionaire, and they don’t kiss the ground I walk on,” Sam crossed her arms over in chest.

“They’re too scared of you,” Danny teased.

Sam glowed at the compliment.

“Do you think your bio dad will give you and your best friends some free Wayne Tech?” Tucker eyed him hopefully.

“I don’t know. I haven’t even talked to the guy yet,” Danny took a huge bite of sandwich in hopes of avoiding further conversation. He wished he hadn’t said anything. Sam and Tucker were under the illusion that Danny and Bruce Wayne had been speaking to one another.

“You haven’t?” Sam’s eyebrows rose in shock.

Danny shook his head still chewing.

“Why not?”

“I don’t know,” Danny shrugged.

Jazz had already given him the third degree about him avoiding talking to his biological father. As Jazz had told him ignoring the problem wouldn’t make it go away. His sister had been planning on flying in for the weekend but a big group project had come up, and she couldn’t get out of it.

“This is all happening really fast,” Sam regarded him sympathetically.

“I guess,” Danny shrugged.

“Yeah, dude, how are you feeling?” Tucker gave his shoulder a little pat.

“I’m fine,” Danny shrugged again.

“Danny, you just found out you were switched at birth. You’re going to go live with your biological father who is a virtual stranger and also a billionaire. You’re moving to another city, and you’re a secret superhero,” Sam raised one eyebrow pointedly at him.

“Honestly, I think the ghosts are taking all of this worse than I am,” Danny was uncomfortably reminded of the near hysterics Skulker had gone into when he found out Danny was leaving Amity Park, and the hunter wouldn’t be able to follow him.

Danny had been working overtime to make sure all of the ghosts were securely locked away in the Zone before he left for Gotham. Skulker was the last ghost he’d had to throw back into the Ghost Zone. The halfa was planning to put an even stronger door on the portal in an attempt to keep the portal closed and limit the amount of ghosts escaping. At the very least Danny was going to put a sensor on the portal doors that would alert his phone if the doors were opened. Danny would know when he needed to fly back to Amity Park.

Valerie would also be able to take care of things. The two of them divided ghost-hunting responsibilities quite well nowadays. She would be able to hold down the fort until he could get back to Amity Park.

“Yeah, your relationship with the ghosts is weird,” Tucker commented.

“We’re frienemies,” Danny grinned.

There was a good collection of ghosts who caused Danny trouble on a regular basis, however, they were the same ones who Danny knew he could count on in the event a more powerful and evil ghost came around. Over the years the halfa had come to realize that the ghosts he fought literally couldn’t help themselves in some of the actions that they took.

The ghosts who had once been human had an Obsession that they needed to see fulfilled. Normally it was something that they loved when they were still alive or something they wanted to do or even involved their deaths. For Skulker it was hunting. He’d been a great game hunter in life, and he’d carried over that interest into his afterlife. Hunting was Skulker’s Obsession. It was literally his reason for existence. Without this Obsession Skulker would cease to exist. If he stopped hunting Skulker would move on to the true afterlife. 

Sam and Tucker chuckled at Danny’s comment.

“Is it weird that I’m actually going to miss them? I mean they annoy me and make me miss schoolwork. But they’ve grown on me too. Like fungus.”

“It’s a little weird, dude,” Tucker nodded.

“Yeah, but on the bright side living in Gotham is going to be like going on vacation,” Danny smiled dreamily.

“Pretty sure you’re the only one to ever think that about moving to Gotham,” Sam smiled.

“Eh, I’ll take crazy people who are alive over crazy people who are dead and have access to very powerful ghostly abilities,” Danny shrugged.

“What time is Mr. Wayne supposed to get here tomorrow?” the beret-wearing boy asked.

“Around 5ish I think. He’s coming over for dinner.”

“Is your mom cooking?” Tucker was right to look terrified.

“No, I convinced her to order out from Little Italia,” Danny was very relieved he’d won that particular battle.

The dark haired boy didn’t care how much his mom wanted to give his biological father a home cooked meal. He did not want to poison the man during their first meeting.

The rest of the school day passed. Danny went over to Sam’s so the three of them could spend as much time together as possible. Soon everything was going to change.

///

Bruce boarded his private jet. He settled in to one of the comfy chairs and pulled up his laptop that linked directly to the computer servers in the Cave.

There were several cases he could work on in the two-hour flight. He also wanted to keep connected to Gotham while he was away for the weekend.

Dick, Tim, and Barbara would be capable of watching over Gotham for a weekend. The three of them had kept the city from burning down during the months he’d been locked up on Rimbor. Dick and Alfred were in charge of watching Damian and keeping the boy in line.

His wards were now well aware of just why he was leaving for the weekend. To say they were shocked would be an understatement. Damian had locked himself in his room. Bruce hadn’t realized that Talia had never told him about his older brother, and the younger boy was taking the news hard. Bruce knew Damian took a point of pride of being the only one biologically related to Bruce.

Now there was another who could make the same claim. Not only was Daniel the elder child but he was also Talia’s son. Bruce knew it had shaken Damian’s understanding of his place in the world.

He knew it was going to be difficult for all of them to adjust. But Bruce couldn’t just ignore that his son was alive even if it meant exposing his son to the ‘life’. The exposure was inevitable with Daniel moving in with them for the next two years. Perhaps Bruce would have asked for partial custody to limit Daniel’s exposure to his nightlife if the situation was different.

There was no other choice. Not when the only other option was for Daniel to live with Vladimir Masters.

Masters had been on Batman’s watch list for years now. The man had become extraordinarily wealthy extraordinarily quickly, and it was slightly unclear just how he’d gained that wealth. But after acquiring his wealth the other billionaire had settled in Wisconsin, and done nothing of note. Masters had moved to the small town of Amity Park after his mansion was destroyed in some sort of fire. The silver haired man became its mayor and had held the position for over a year now.

It was only recently that he moved back up Batman’s watch list. In the last few months Masters had begun spending a lot of time around Lex Luthor. Batman always took a closer look at anyone who associated with Luthor. Batman had also found it strange that the other billionaire had decided to fund the Fentons’ expedition all while offering to take in their son. But then Masters and the Fentons were old friends from college. They all had the bizarre interest in ghosts.

Even after more research Batman still did not believe in the type of ghosts Amity Park claimed to host. It was all a publicity stunt created by a small town to generate tourism. The townspeople claimed they were the most haunted town in the world. But the pictures and video evidence were always distorted or clearly fabricated. The colorful and outlandish ghosts were caricatures of what ghosts were supposed to be. The League had unanimously decided it wasn’t worth the effort to investigate.

Gotham’s Dark Knight would never admit it but he was nervous. For sixteen years he had believed his son was dead. To find out that this wasn’t the case was shocking. It was thrilling and terrifying. Bruce felt very similarly to the way he felt when Talia first told him she was pregnant.

Things were even more complicated now. There were far too many variables involved in the situation. There was the media rampage that was sure to ensue once the news leaked. There was the fact that Daniel was going to be living with him for the next two years, and his son didn’t have any knowledge of Bruce’s nightly activities. Daniel had lived a normal life, and Bruce didn’t want to drag his son into his world but that meant keeping Batman a secret.

Then of course there was Damian and Talia. Damian had been nothing but antagonistic towards Tim. It was difficult to predict if he would be the same towards Daniel. Or would Damian hold more of a grudging respectfulness like he did with Dick? As for Talia, she would find out about their son as soon as the media did, and then Talia al Ghul would be coming to Gotham. 

The Dark Knight knew Talia had been as devastated as he was by the death of their child. He feared she would attempt to kidnap both of their sons, and ferry them off to Infinity Island to be trained by the Shadows. Bruce would protect Daniel from that fate at all costs.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**

Friday flew by, and Danny was anxiously awaiting the arrival of his biological father. His mom was equally anxious while his dad was too busy daydreaming about all the ghosts they were going to hunt in Peru. Danny envied his dad's ability to block everything out besides ghosts.

Not that Danny didn't think this revelation bothered him. Both of his parents were much more subdued than they should have been considering they were about to go on the trip of their dreams. They had made sure over the last week to reassure him that they still loved him exactly the same as they always had. But Danny knew it couldn't have been easy for them to find out that their biological son was dead, and had been dead for sixteen years without them even realizing it.

Danny had set the table, and was laying on the couch with his tablet. He was flipping through the Phantom Database to double check that he hadn't missed putting anyone back in the Ghost Zone.

The doorbell rang promptly at 5 o'clock, and his mom ran to grab the door before his dad could. But his dad was bounding along right behind her. Danny carefully set aside his tablet, and slowly made his way towards the front door.

"It's so good to finally meet you, Mr. Wayne," Maddie greeted.

"It is great to meet you too, Madeline. Thank you for having me, and please call me Bruce," a deep unfamiliar voice responded.

"We're happy to have you, Brucie," Jack shouted.

Danny heard a grunt, and rounded the corner to see his dad holding poor Bruce Wayne in a bear hug. The other man's feet were actually off the ground.

"Jack," the female ghost hunter looked utterly mortified.

Danny's massive father released Bruce. "I'm so sorry, Brucie, you just remind me of Danny. I couldn't help myself."

"Of course," Bruce was covertly straightening out his expensive looking button down shirt.

"Danny, come meet Bruce," his mom had caught sight of him hovering in the doorway, and waved him forward.

Bruce Wayne's eyes instantly locked on Danny. The half ghost felt his heart rate speed up. Danny, Tucker, and Sam had looked up photos of Bruce Wayne when they found out he was actually Danny's biological father. There were certainly plenty of pictures of the playboy billionaire. He was a favorite subject of the Gotham gossip rags.

But seeing Bruce Wayne in pictures and seeing him in person were two very different things. The pictures in the magazine hadn't prepared Danny for looking into eyes that were the same exact shade of pale blue as his own. Until this moment Danny realized he hadn't fully comprehended that Bruce Wayne was his biological father.

He'd heard what the FBI agents said, and he'd seen the results of the DNA tests. But the black haired teen hadn't truly accepted the truth. Bruce Wayne was his father, and Danny felt like his world was shattering all over again.

Danny slowly walked over to stand between his parents, which put him directly across from his biological father. Danny was nearly as tall the black haired man but not as muscular. Bruce Wayne was much more muscular than he appeared in the papers. Of course the man still looked lean compared to the 6 foot 8 bulk of Jack Fenton.

"Bruce I'm so happy to introduce you to Danny. Danny this is Bruce," his mom wrapped a comforting arm across his back. He was too tall for his mom to put her arm across his shoulders anymore. Unless they were sitting down of course.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Danny," Bruce held out his hand.

"It's nice to meet you too," Danny murmured, ducking his head and reaching out to shake Bruce's proffered hand. It was surreal to realize that he was shaking the hand of a stranger who was responsible for Danny's very existence. Danny shared half of this man's DNA.

"Did you have a nice flight?" his mom asked politely.

"Yes, it's really not that long of flight. I would be happy to fly you back on the weekends when schedules allow it."

Danny glanced back up to see Bruce smiling warmly at him.

The halfa smiled back, thrilled at the idea that he would have the opportunity to visit his friends more than he thought he would. "That would be awesome. Thank you."

"Yes, that really is very kind of you," Maddie smiled at Bruce.

"Of course, anything to make this transition easier," the billionaire stated sincerely.

"Now, let's grab some grub!" Jack cheered, smiling brightly.

They led Bruce to the kitchen. The man made several polite comments about the house. He was of course interested in learning more about the large metal station coming out from the roof of their house. His parents were only too happy to tell him all about the Fenton station. Danny just hoped Bruce didn't think his parents were completely insane.

But Bruce seemed quite interested, and eventually the topic turned, like all things did in the Fenton household, to ghosts.

"I didn't think ghosts were real," Bruce was smiling slightly, and Danny's parents didn't recognize the signs that the billionaire was just humoring them. At least he wasn't mocking them, and was decent enough to respectfully listen to the Fentons blabber on about ghosts.

"Not real! We'll show you how real they are. We'll show you the Fenton Portal!" Jack boomed.

"Dad, no!" Danny cried, horrified. If his dad opened it now that risked ghosts escaping, and Danny had just finished putting them all back.

"Fenton Portal?" Bruce quirked an eyebrow as he glanced around at the three Fentons.

"It's a portal we created that leads to the ghostly dimension. We'd be happy to show it to you," Maddie explained looking just as excited to show a stranger their life's work as her husband.

"Let's go now!" the largest Fenton leapt to his feet and began running towards the basement.

It was a good thing that they had already finished their dinner.

"He's very… exuberant," Bruce calmly stood from his seat.

"Yes, Jack does love discussing anything to do with ghosts," his mom smiled fondly, and began leading them towards the basement.

Internally Danny was panicking. Hopefully there weren't any ghosts hanging around the portal at the moment.

"So what do you think about all this ghost stuff? I mean I've read that Amity Park is the most haunted place in America," Bruce whispered conspiratorially to Danny as they trailed along behind his mom.

"Um, well…ghosts aren't as scary as they are in horror movies," Danny fumbled.

"You think they're real?" Bruce's eyes widened in surprise.

"I've seen them," Danny shrugged.

Bruce followed them silently into the basement after that. Unfortunately, by the time they reached the basement Jack had already opened the portal. Danny glanced to the side to see the stunned expression on his bio dad's face. The swirling green portal to an entirely different dimension was a lot to take in for someone who wasn't expecting it. Danny had grown used to the thrum of energy the portal emitted but it had to be sort of terrifying to normal people.

"The Fenton Portal," Jack waved his hands like he was unveiling some grand prize on a game show.

"Wow," Bruce murmured.

The billionaire didn't have another chance to say anything because the Box Ghost chose that exact moment to swoop through the portal.

"I am the Box Ghost! Beware!" the portly blue ghost cried.

Danny caught Box Ghost's eyes, and sent the box-obsessed ghost the fiercest glare he could. The Box Ghost froze in fear, and the halfa jerked his head towards the portal.

The blue skinned ghost swallowed visibly. "Oh, look at the time. I have to go!"

The overall wearing ghost shot back into the portal.

"And Jack Fenton's world renowned ghost hunting expertise sends ghosts fleeing in terror once again!" the large man in the orange jumpsuit shouted, throwing his hands in the air.

"That was a ghost?" Bruce asked.

"Yes, it was!" his mom cheered.

"One of the stupider ones," Danny muttered under his breath.

But Bruce heard him, and his eyes shot towards Danny then back to Danny's parents who were still celebrating his dad's defeat of the Box Ghost.

While they were distracted Danny covertly shut the portal before any of the other, more powerful ghosts realized it was open and decided to break out. He quickly herded all three of his parents back upstairs with the lame excuse about showing off a science project. He then conveniently misplaced said science project.

Luckily no one questioned it. Bruce because he didn't know any differently, and his parents because they knew he was notorious for losing assignments. They didn't know it was because his assignments were often destroyed during fights with ghosts.

The four of them settled in the living room with some coffee. The adults continued with some small talk. Bruce and his mom kept trying to include him conversation. Bruce asked him questions about school, his friends, and his hobbies.

Danny answered the questions and he forced himself to ask questions in return. It was awkward now without the excuse of eating dinner. Or at least it was awkward on Danny's part. His dad didn't look the least bit perturbed. The large man was eagerly expounding on ghosts and Danny. His mom and Bruce were composed and used to holding polite conversation with strangers.

How was he supposed to live with this man when just sitting in his own living room with his parents was so bizarre?

Not to mention his other kids. There were three of them. Only two of them currently lived with him. One he had guardianship of, and the other was his newly discovered biological child. It was strange to think he had more siblings, brothers. Danny had always been the little brother. He'd never been the older sibling or had brothers. The halfa was curious about how it was going to go.

"Thank you so much for having me over," Bruce smiled graciously at the end of the night.

"Thank you for coming over. It was lovely to finally meet you in person," Maddie smiled back.

"Yes, you seem like a great guy, Brucie. I can see Danny will be in good hands," Jack patted Bruce on the back.

"Thank you, I promise to not misplace your trust in me. I'm glad to have this opportunity to get to know you, Danny," Bruce's blue eyes sought Danny's own.

Danny's stomach twisted. Even hours later it was still surreal to look at his own eyes set in someone else's face.

"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it too," Danny wasn't sure if that was a lie or not.

Danny didn't want to replace his parents with Bruce. His parents assured him that it was fine to get to know and eventually love Bruce as his dad. What happened was no one's fault. It wasn't going to hurt them if Danny grew to love Bruce too. They just wanted Danny to be happy. But Danny wasn't sure if he was ready to open up to Bruce. He still wasn't sure about the whole situation and even though he was going to live with Bruce he still felt the need to be cautious around him.

Bruce smiled gently at him as he peered into Danny's eyes. The black haired boy felt like the man could see right through him, and knew exactly how Danny felt.

"Maybe we can lunch tomorrow?" Bruce asked.

"Oh, uh I think they have to do some work at Axion Labs, and I have to finish packing," Danny blurted out.

"Well, if it's all right with you and your parents I can come over and help you pack," Bruce offered.

His mom looked to Danny, and Danny shrugged. He may not exactly want to spend time with Bruce but he knew he would have to do it sooner rather than later. They were going to have to be on a plane together for several hours alone. Danny figured it was better to do it in a comfortable setting.

"Yeah, that would be nice," Danny flashed a quick smile.

"All right, I'll grab some pizza and be here at 12:30," Bruce agreed.

"Pizza is always great," Danny felt a real grin stretch across his face.

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow then. Have a nice night," Bruce waved.

"Goodnight," Danny replied.

His mom walked Bruce to the door.

"How are you feeling, Dan-o?" his dad asked once his mom returned.

"I'm okay," Danny answered automatically.

His parents didn't look like they were totally convinced but they didn't press him. Danny quickly escaped to his room. He flopped onto his bed and stared up at the glow in the dark stars on his ceiling. Danny wondered if he could put more on his new bedroom in Gotham or would that be considered childish?

Danny supposed he really didn't care.


	7. Chapter 7

Danny had breakfast with his parents before they had to head over to Axion Labs to wrap up a few experiments, and clean up their lab spaces.

The halfa used that time to put the stronger door on the portal to the Ghost Zone. Danny also changed the access code. Hopefully his parents wouldn’t try to open it again before they left for Peru so they would never realize the codes were changed. He also packed three bags with the basic ghost hunting equipment. One for Sam, one for Tucker, and then one for himself. 

Danny wanted his friends to have easy access to the equipment they needed since Fenton Works would be locked up tight. A bag for himself that he could grab if there was an emergency in Amity Park where he would have to rush back. He also wanted to get it done first thing because Bruce was coming over later. Danny didn’t want his biological father questioning why he was bringing all of this strange weaponry with him. 

Hopefully they didn’t check his bags before they got on the plane. They didn’t have to do that for private planes right?

“Danny, are you listening to me?”

Jazz had called him while he was getting things together in the basement lab. 

“Yeah,” Danny responded automatically even though he had in fact not been listening. 

His sister had been making him go through the events of last night in intricate detail, and was analyzing his reactions. Danny had tuned her out after the first ten minutes. 

“Then what did I just say?”

“Something about trauma and it’s okay to give Bruce a chance?” Danny took a shot in the dark.

“…Right,” Jazz grudgingly agreed. 

Danny silently pumped a fist of victory in the air. 

“I know I’m talking a lot. I just want to help you. This isn’t easy, and it’s not going to be easy for a while. I wish I could do more. I wish I was there for you,” Jazz sighed. 

“Thanks, Jazz, and you might not physically be here but you’ve called pretty much every day to check in. I appreciate it,” Danny really meant it. 

Jazz had always annoyed him with her hovering, and psychoanalyzing his feelings but after she found about him being Phantom she had really proven herself. She had kept his secret, and watched over him. She helped him keep the secret from his parents, and protected him. He really came to appreciate her after she left for college, and Danny found himself missing her. His parents were always busy, and it was lonely when Tucker and Sam had their own family obligations.

“That’s what big sisters are for,” Jazz murmured softly. 

“And little brothers are for causing trouble.”

“Remember that since you have little brothers now,” Jazz reminded him. 

“Right,” once again Danny wondered what Bruce’s other children were like. Or how they felt about Danny moving in with them. 

“Did Bruce tell you anything about them?” Jazz asked.

“No, we mostly talked about me,” Danny hadn’t liked being the center of attention. 

“Maybe that’s something the two of you can talk about when he comes over later,” Jazz suggested. 

“Yeah, I guess,” Danny supposed that would be an easy topic of conversation. 

“All right, well, I’ll let you go, Danny. Call me afterwards to tell me how it goes if you want to.”

“I will,” Danny knew it would drive her crazy if he didn’t call her. 

They said their goodbyes, and Danny finished packing up the basement. 

Sam and Tucker called him before noon to ask him how dinner went. They planned to get dinner at the Nasty Burger later that night. It would be the last one they would have together for a while. Danny would be leaving with Bruce tomorrow morning. 

Promptly at noon the doorbell rang. Heart pounding, Danny tripped his way down the stairs as the half ghost raced down the stairs. This was why no one would ever realize he had superpowers. He was such a disaster and an anxious ball of energy all the time. 

Danny threw open the door. Bruce stood on the front steps. He was even more casually dressed than he was yesterday. Danny wondered if the paparazzi would even recognize the billionaire out of his thousand dollar suits and in a small town like Amity Park. 

Even casually dressed the man looked far more put together than Danny did. Bruce’s black hair was cut short and kept neat. Danny couldn’t quite remember the last time he’d gotten his haircut. Come to think of it he wasn’t even sure if he remembered to brush the wild mop of black hair this morning between trying to get last minute stuff done. 

“I got a couple of different pizzas since I forgot to ask what you liked,” Bruce smiled and held out the stack of three pizzas.

“Thanks for getting the pizza,” Danny smiled back. “And don’t worry, I’m not really picky. I can pretty much eat anything.”

He’d been eating food laced with ectoplasm for years when experiments left in the fridge leaked in to their regular food. Besides being half ghost meant he had a cast iron stomach now.

“That’s good to know.”

Danny led Bruce to the kitchen. For several long moments they ate their pizza in silence. Bruce seemed happy to eat in silence. He was so relaxed in a stranger’s home with the son he thought was dead for sixteen years. Danny envied him that. Social interactions weren’t exactly Danny’s strong suit. 

“I like the mushroom pizza,” Danny decided he needed to make an effort. 

His parents, sister, and friends were right. He needed to get to know his biological father. 

“It’s one of my favorite pizza toppings,” Bruce responded. 

“Me too,” Danny was strangely relieved to find something they had in common even if it was something as simple as pizza toppings. 

The discussion of the best pizza toppings broke the ice between them. It led to a discussion of other things as Bruce shared his other children’s favorite pizza toppings. Danny worked up the courage to ask about Bruce’s other kids. 

Danny, Tucker, and Sam had done a bit of research about Bruce Wayne. Or well, Sam and Tucker had, Danny had listened to what they found but he hadn’t participated in digging into Bruce Wayne’s personal life. 

The billionaire was only too happy to share. 

There was Dick Grayson who Bruce had adopted when he was eight years old after his trapeze artist parents had died in a trapeze accident. He was twenty years old, and no longer lived with Bruce but he lived in the nearby city of Bludhaven. Dick had just started attending the police academy.

“He’s very kind and capable. Dick drops in every now and then. He’s looking forward to meeting you.”

Tim Drake was fourteen and currently lived with Bruce. Tim had lived with him for the past year. His parents were also from the high society of Gotham but they were abroad, and had given guardianship of their son to Bruce Wayne. 

“He works too hard. I have to constantly remind him to take a break and sleep. He’s taken Damian moving in hard but then Damian is challenging.”

“Challenging?” Danny wasn’t sure if he liked the sound of that. What was he getting himself into? Danny could deal with ghosts. Challenging little kids not so much.

“Hmm,” Bruce hummed. “Damian wants my complete attention. He isn’t exactly fond of the other boys since they aren’t my biological children.”

“Why?” Danny frowned. Family was family in Danny’s eyes. Blood didn’t matter. Tucker and Sam were his family. The whole switched at birth thing just reaffirmed this belief for Danny.

“He was raised in a very… sheltered environment,” Bruce’s brows were slightly furrowed. 

“So do you think he’ll be okay with me moving in?”

“I’m sure it will be an adjustment for all of us. You are as much of a surprise to him as he was to me. The other boys knew I lost a son. Damian didn’t know.”

“And now he knows.”

“And now he knows,” Bruce hesitated a moment before continuing. “He was raised by your birth mother and her family.”

“My birth mother? I thought the FBI couldn’t find her?” Danny frowned.

“No, they couldn’t. She disappeared after your birth, and what we believed was your death. But she would turn up unexpectedly in my life every so often in the years that followed. One of those times she conceived Damian, and then disappeared. I didn’t see her again until she turned up with Damian two months ago, and then she was gone again. She might decide to visit once the story breaks about you,” Bruce looked like he wanted to say more about the situation but was holding back.

Danny didn’t push for more information. It looked like his biological parents’ relationship was as complicated as his parents’ relationship was uncomplicated. His parents may have been ghost obsessed but they absolutely loved one another. Danny had never even seen them argue before. They trusted one another completely. The halfa figured that’s why his dad never got angry with Vlad’s blatant flirting. Jack trusted Maddie one hundred percent.

Or… his dad really just was that oblivious to his ‘best friend’s’ interest in his wife.

“Right, okay,” Danny nodded. He’d cross the bridge of meeting his biological mother if and when it came.

Bruce told him a bit about Alfred Pennyworth. The butler had raised Bruce after his parents were murdered when Bruce was eight. The subject of Martha and Thomas Wayne’s murders were quickly glossed over. Danny could see the pain the subject caused Bruce. Danny couldn’t imagine witnessing something like that.

Bruce did not mention Jason Todd. Danny only knew about the other boy’s existence thanks to Sam and Tucker’s research. He’d died in some sort of accident the details of which had never been officially released to the public since Jason had been a minor.

“We also have some frequent guests who I’m sure you’ll meet eventually. Stephanie Brown and Barbara Gordon come by often. Tim and Dick also have a few other friends who come by now and then. Your friends and sister are welcome to visit too. Wayne Manor is a big place,” Bruce smiled.

“Thanks, I would really like that, and my friends would really like that too. Tucker is really into tech, and Sam likes the gothic architecture of Gotham.”

“My—our ancestor, Solomon, was responsible for building quite a bit of early Gotham,” Bruce explained.

“Oh, wow. I can’t wait to tell Sam that!”

The rest of the afternoon passed easily. Conservation felt a little less stilted, and flowed a little more naturally. Bruce helped Danny box up the rest of his things. They packed nearly everything in the rental car Bruce had gotten, and took it to the airport outside of town where Bruce’s private jet was stored.

Danny’s first look inside the jet uncomfortably reminded him of just how rich Bruce was. Danny had spent time in Sam’s mansion but it didn’t quite prepare him for the level of luxury in Bruce’s jet.

He could only imagine what Wayne _Manor_ was like.

Once most of his things were packed away on the jet, Bruce dropped him back off at Fenton Works. They said their goodbyes.

Bruce would come to pick him up tomorrow morning. They would have breakfast with his parents, and then that was it. It would be goodbye Amity Park.


	8. Chapter 8

Danny met up with Sam and Tucker at the Nasty Burger. They were all a bit subdued knowing it was the last time the three of them would be together like this.

“Bruce said you both could come visit,” Danny offered, hoping to cheer them up.

“That would be awesome!” Tucker cheered.

“Yeah, Danny, that would be great,” Sam murmured pushing her fries around.

“Are you okay?” Danny asked. He wasn’t the most observant person but he knew Sam well enough to tell when she was upset.

“I’m just going to miss you, Danny. I know this is a much better option than you going to Peru or having to live with Vlad. But it isn’t going to be the same around here without you,” Sam explained.

“I know. I’m going to miss you both too.”

The thought of not being able to see his best friends every day almost had him considering living with Vlad. Sam and Tucker had been his constants for years. They’d been through everything with him: his accident, learning how to use his powers, and so much more. Without them he doubted he would have made it through some fights.

Not seeing them everyday was going to feel like missing a piece of himself. He was going to miss them more than he was going to miss his parents.

“I think you’re both forgetting about modern technology. We can still hang out every day. We can play DOOM, watch movies, and do pretty much everything else we do together,” Tucker reminded them both, attempting to cheer them both up.

“You’re right. The only difference is that we won’t physically be in the same place,” Danny nodded.

“Exactly,” Tucker grinned.

“I guess,” Sam forced a smile.

“Besides we can—” Danny stopped midsentence when a wisp of blue smoke slipped past his lips.

The three of them froze.

“I thought you said you put all the ghosts back in the Zone?” Tucker frowned.

“I did,” Danny groaned and dropped his head to the sticky Nasty Burger table.

“I don’t see anything,” Sam murmured.

“I’ll go check,” Danny stuffed the last of his burger in his mouth, and then made his way to the bathrooms.

In the bathroom he changed forms, turned intangible, and flew upwards through the building into the sky. Danny’s now acidic green eyes scanned the surrounding area for any hint of ghostly activity. He didn’t immediately see anything. But a flicker of inhuman green light had him diving towards the ground.

The moment he landed a green blur launched itself at Danny, knocking the halfa off of his feet.

“Cujo,” Danny grumbled as he was covered with ectoplasm slobber. “I thought you were in the Ghost Zone. Did you dig your way out again?”

The green puppy yipped, his entire body wiggling in excitement. Danny got a firm grip of the ghost dog and held him away from his body.

Danny heaved a sigh. “We talked about this. You can’t do that anymore. You need to stay in the Realm.”

The puppy wilted, flashing large puppy dog eyes.

“I promise I’ll come visit you as often as I can,” Danny offered, feeling guilty.

Cujo perked up, barking happily.

“All right, little buddy, let’s get you back to the Ghost Zone, and no more breaking out,” holding tightly to the puppy, Danny rose back in to the air, and shot off to bring Cujo back to the Infinite Realm as quickly as possibly.

He wanted to be able to spend as much time as he could with his friends as he could.

///

“Hmm,” Bruce stroked a hand across his jaw, and hit replay for the third time. The security camera feed was only a handful of minutes long but it was very informative.

After the incident in the Fenton’s basement with the Box Ghost, Bruce knew the Amity Park ghosts deserved a second look. He had seen the Box Ghost and the Fenton’s portal with his own eyes. Perhaps the Box Ghost could have been a hologram but the portal was certainly not a hoax. Bruce had felt the energy emanating from the swirling green depths. It had made him more than a little uneasy to learn that Danny had lived above a portal to an unknown dimension.

Bruce had wanted to ask Danny more about the ghosts but he restrained himself. The time with Danny had been to get to know him better not to grill him about the ghosts of Amity Park. Danny clearly knew quite a bit considering his brief interaction with the Box Ghost that Bruce had witnessed.

The looks exchanged between the pair spoke of familiarity. The Box Ghost had been afraid of Danny’s sharp glare not Maddie and Jack. The blue ghost had followed Danny’s nonverbal order to go back into the portal. But why?

The time for questioning Danny would come later when they were safely back in Gotham. 

For now Bruce settled for gathering what information he could from other sources. He hacked into the local security cameras. So far he hadn’t seen any ‘ghostly’ activity. Amity Park was just a quiet and surprisingly crime free little town.

Until tonight.

The program he’d set up alerted him from the other case he was working on. Bruce had quickly pulled open the video. He watched the short interaction between the being with the galaxy like skin, and the small, glowing green dog. Unfortunately there wasn’t any audio, and it was difficult to read the being’s lips. The basic gist seemed to be that the dark purple humanoid figure was scolding the glowing green puppy.

Bruce tried to follow the figure when they took off into the air with the glowing green dog tucked beneath one arm but Amity Park didn’t possess enough working security cameras to determine where they ended up.

The ghosts of Amity Park were real. If they were actually ghosts. Now that he was aware the beings were real, Bruce was questioning just what they were. The being with the dark purple skin, glowing white hair, and Lazarus Pit green eyes was humanoid. But their facial features and coloration were decidedly inhuman. It reminded Bruce of old tales of dark fae creatures.

Bruce sent the clip to the Cave for analysis, and Dick was going to send it to Zatanna. They needed advice on what exactly the being he just witnessed was. Was it alien or supernatural?

He didn’t have to wait long for a response.

“Hey, B,” Dick appeared on his screen. The background clearly indicating he was in the Cave.

“What did Zatanna say about the clip?” Bruce answered.

Dick seemed strangely hesitant. “Uh, well, nothing.”

“Nothing?” Bruce growled.

“Yeah, the clip you sent us was completely distorted. I had Tim look at it, and he couldn’t clear it up. So I didn’t send it to her,” Dick answered.

“Distorted?” Bruce scowled, and quickly replayed his own clip.

The security camera feed wasn’t the best quality but they’d certainly dealt with worse footage. Bruce had even cleaned it up before sending it to Dick. The video was pretty clear to Bruce. Had it been corrupted during the transfer? Bruce sent the video again, taking care to send it through a more secure line.

“How about now?” Bruce questioned.

“Still blurry,” Dick reported.

Bruce tried again, feeling a twinge of frustration. “And now?”

“Still nothing, B. I don’t know why you’re trying so hard. It’s clearly a fake. Tim said so while he was trying to clean up the first one. None of the Amity Park stuff is real anyway. It’s all a hoax,” Dick dismissed.

Bruce was about to growl out in anger but managed to stop himself at the last moment. Dick was never dismissive. He was always the one most likely to listen, and be open to different possibilities.

Something wasn’t right. Bruce’s mind drifted to the League’s unanimous decision not to investigate Amity Park’s allegations. They hardly ever voted unanimously about anything. Someone was always bound to disagree with someone else’s opinion. They were never so dismissive about people telling them they were in danger. No matter how outlandish the claims from the people of Amity Park one of them should have investigated the town.

The citizens of an entire town had claimed to be haunted and even pulled in to another dimension. Certainly that should have warranted one of them coming to check in.

So why hadn’t they?

Why had they ignored the repeated calls for help?

Bruce reminded himself it was because they didn’t have any evidence, and what they did have was clearly fabricated. But the sheer amount of reports from multiple sources should have warranted a check in.

So again why didn’t they?

Bruce knew there was something more going on here. No matter how much he didn’t want to he put in a call to Constantine. The man always took forever to respond since he was either on a bender or locked up in his house. Batman didn’t like working with him either, and only ever did so grudgingly. But he needed the man’s knowledge of the supernatural. There were forces going on here beyond Bruce’s knowledge.

Amity Park was quiet for the rest of the night. There wasn’t any other ‘ghostly’ activity or at least nothing that the limited security cameras were able to pick up.

The next morning Bruce was up early. There was still no response from Constantine. He packed his weekend bag in the rental car, and headed over to the local café to bring some coffee and pastries to the Fenton household.

Bruce was waiting for his order when a familiar voice greeted him.

“Why Bruce Wayne, what brings you to my humble little corner of the world?”

Bruce turned to look at Vladimir Masters. The tall, lean man was staring at him with a cold, shrewd expression. He wore an expensive suit for being in such a small little café this early in the morning.

Bruce was struck by a sudden thought. Why would a billionaire choose to be a mayor of such a small town? What did Vlad Masters, someone with ties to Lex Luthor, get out of such a thing? The thought had never before crossed his mind. Why had it never crossed his mind before?

Such an oversight was unacceptable. The realization only furthered his conviction that something was not right in Amity Park, and Vlad Masters had something to do with it.

“Some personal business,” Bruce flashed his trademark vapid smile.

“Personal business? In Amity Park?”

It was easy for Bruce to see right through Vlad’s falsely innocent inquiries.

“Yup,” Bruce grinned. Two could play that game, and Bruce was thankful for the perception that his public persona wasn’t very bright. It made it more plausible that Vlad’s inquiry went right over his head. “It’s certainly a unique little town.”

“Yes, it is. I’m quite happy with it.” There was a clear sense of possession in Vlad’s tone. “However, I never thought I’d see you here.”

“Hmm,” Bruce hummed. “I’m leaving today actually. It was just a quick little weekend visit.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. I was going to suggest that we have lunch together,” Vlad really needed to work on his cheerful smiles. They didn’t reach his cool blue eyes.

“Wayne,” the barista called.

Bruce was grateful for the excuse to get up and move away from the silver haired man. He grabbed the bag of pastries, and the tray of hot beverages. Bruce dropped a generous tip in the Tip Jar before turning to leave.

Vlad was still loitering in the café.

“That’s quite a big bag of muffins,” Vlad stated leadingly.

“It is,” Bruce agreed cheerfully, smiling vapidly.

Vlad blinked slowly, his eyes narrowing. “You know I’ve never noticed it before but you remind me of someone.”

“I do?” Bruce was well aware of how much Danny looked like him, and Masters was a close friend of the Fentons.

“Yes,” the confusion was clear to see on the other man’s face as he attempted to figure it out.

So Vlad wasn’t aware of Bruce’s connection to the Fentons just yet. The other billionaire was just here fishing for information.

“Oh, well, I have to go before these coffees get cold. Nice seeing you, Vlad,” Bruce stepped around the Mayor of Amity Park, and made his way towards the exit.

“Goodbye, Bruce,” Vlad’s eyes followed him all the way to his rental car.

Bruce felt a strange sense of urgency as he drove towards Fenton Works. He wanted to get out of Amity Park and back to Gotham as soon as possible.

The Fentons were more subdued when he arrived. Danny hadn’t exactly been talkative with him since meeting one another but he was completely withdrawn during their quick breakfast. Maddie and he carried the conversation with Jack occasionally interjecting with a fact about ghosts.

They drew out the breakfast for as long as they were able to. But eventually it was time to go. Danny grabbed his last small bag of personal items. Bruce stepped outside to give the Fentons privacy for their last goodbyes. They joined him several minutes later, and Bruce dutifully ignored the red-rimmed eyes.

“Call us if you need anything,” Maddie waved as Danny walked down the front steps.

“I will,” Danny agreed.

“Love you, Dan-o,” Jack boomed.

“We love you, Danny,” Maddie smiled brightly.

“Love you, too,” Danny waved.

“I’ll take good care of him,” Bruce promised.

“We know,” Maddie wiped away a stray tear.

They hugged again and said their last goodbye. Danny and Bruce climbed in to the rental car. The ride to the airport was silent. Bruce had raised enough teenagers to know to just let him be for the moment.

“I didn’t ask you before but have you ever flown before?” Bruce asked as they climbed the stairs into the jet.

“Yeah, once or twice,” Danny murmured. “My mom is actually a pilot.”

“Oh, good, so you’ll know what to expect,” Bruce settled in to the comfy armchair.

Danny sat down in the chair beside him. “Yeah, but I’ve never been on a plane this nice.”

Bruce chuckled. “Well, I hope you enjoy it.”

Danny smiled, and glanced out the window.

Bruce felt relief at having Danny safe and secure with him, and on their way back to Gotham.

However, despite Bruce looking forward to going home he knew this trip would be the last bit of peace he had for a while. Adding Danny to the already volatile mix in Wayne Manor was sure to end in chaos. Then there was the mystery of Amity Park, and Vlad Masters that would need to be investigated.

Bruce could already feel a headache forming.


	9. Chapter 9

The flight felt as if it had simultaneously taken forever and was over far too quickly. Danny was not ready to be in Gotham but there was no stopping it now.

The jet set down on a private airstrip. An older man with steel colored hair was waiting for them with a sleek and expensive looking black car.

“Danny meet Alfred Pennyworth. Alfred, this is my son Danny,” Bruce introduced.

“It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Daniel,” the butler’s eyes sparkled warmly.

“Yeah, you too. But you can just call me Danny,” the black haired teen rubbed the back of his neck.

“Master Danny then,” the butler stated stubbornly.

“Okay…” Danny shuffled awkwardly.

“That’s the best you’re going to get out of him. He raised me and still calls me Master Bruce,” Bruce whispered in his ear as they climbed in to the car’s backseat.

Danny chuckled. Having a butler was going to take some getting used to.

The ride to the manor had Bruce acting as a tour guide. Danny’s biological father proudly pointed out landmarks as they drove past Gotham City. The skyscrapers and the city itself were a lot bigger than Danny had been expecting. He’d never actually spent a lot of time in big cities before, and was grateful that Wayne Manor was located just outside of the chaotic and dark city.

Alfred asked Danny about what his favorite meals were. The butler looked quite put out when Danny said he would eat anything. Bruce found seemed to find it hilarious.

The first look of Wayne Manor had his jaw dropping open. Danny didn’t exactly know what he’d been expecting but it wasn’t this grand and massive place. The gothic manor was surrounded by an intricate stone wall, and it was even larger and nicer than Vlad’s manor he’d bought from the dairy king.

“Wow,” Danny gaped, shocked to think this was going to be his home for the next two years. It was certainly the polar opposite of Fenton Works. Fenton Works was cobbed together with random parts from failed experiments. Wayne Manor was elegant and clearly crafted together using only the best quality materials.

“Welcome home, Danny,” Bruce held the door to the manor open for him.

Danny nerves were spiking. This was really happening. He was about to step foot in to the house he would be living in for the next two years, and meet the people he would be living with for the next two years. He hoped it went well.

“Thanks,” Danny took a step through the ornate front door. His nerves made his powers act up. The foot he took a step with went intangible, and he promptly crashed in to the floor when from his knee down sank in to the floor.

The bags he was carrying went flying, and his face was intimately introduced to the thick plush carpet as he smashed it against the floor.

“Are you all right?” a gentle voice asked.

“This is a nice carpet. Very soft,” Danny mumbled, the pain was already receding thanks to ghostly healing powers.

A strong hand hooked underneath his armpit, and hauled him back to his feet. Thankfully his foot was cooperating, and was no longer intangible or stuck in the floor. That would have been very awkward to explain as it was it was incredibly embarrassing to have his powers acting up like this.

Bruce brushed him off, checking him over for injuries. Danny flushed red at seeing the audience in the entryway who had been witness to his complete failure.

There were three guys, all black haired, and two girls. One was a redhead in a wheelchair who looked to be around Jazz’s age, and the other was a blonde girl who appeared to be around Danny’s age.

“Here you go,” the gentle voice from earlier came from the oldest boy who was really a young man. Dick Grayson held out Danny’s lost bag to him. His dark blue eyes were as kind as his voice.

“Thank you,” Danny smiled sheepishly, still more than a little mortified. That was a great way to make a first impression. But at least he didn’t completely reveal his powers to these strangers.

“Are you certain the DNA test was performed correctly, Father?” the youngest black haired boy demanded. The bronze skinned boy was scowling at Danny, an unimpressed look in his almond shaped, dark green eyes as he swept his eyes up and down Danny’s rumpled form.

“Damian,” Bruce’s tone was one of warning.

So the little twerp was Danny’s biological brother. Danny flashed him a bright grin. “Yup, looks like you’re stuck with me.”

Damian’s glower turned darker, and for some reason his annoyance only made Danny grin wider and want to ruffle Damian’s perfectly slicked back hair. Huh, maybe teasing little siblings was just something that was ingrained.

Introductions were made. The last black haired, blue-eyed boy was Tim Drake. He was a year younger than Danny. The red haired young woman was Barbara Gordon, Dick’s girlfriend, and a close friend of the family. She was the daughter of the police commissioner. The blonde girl was Stephanie Brown, a close friend of Tim’s.

The group helped bring his boxes to Danny’s new room which was nearly as big as the whole top floor of Fenton Works, and had it’s own private bathroom. Or at least most of the group helped. Damian refused saying it was servant’s work.

“Servant’s work? You grow up with more servant’s than just a butler?” Danny inquired, he was just trying to get used to the idea of a butler. He couldn’t imagine growing up with servants plural. Just who was his birth mother that Damian grew up with more than one servant?

Damian didn’t deign to answer him and just chose to go to his default expression for Danny: a disdainful glower.

“Sorry about him. We’re still trying to house train him,” Dick ruffled Damian’s neatly styled hair.

Damian instantly swatted Dick’s hand away, and smoothed his hair back in to place. “Don’t touch me, Grayson. My manners are infinitely better than yours.”

It seemed like Danny wasn’t the only one Damian didn’t approve of. In fact it seemed the only one whose opinion Damian cared about was Bruce’s.

“Of course they are,” Dick winked at Danny over Damian’s head.

Danny definitely found himself liking Dick. The others weren’t too bad either. They just weren’t as welcoming and openly friendly as Dick clearly was. Danny understood. He wasn’t the most socially adept person either, and having a stranger move in so suddenly when they were still trying to get used to Damian had to be difficult.

They got all of Danny’s boxes and bags to his new room, and then they had an early dinner. Alfred had whipped up a full three-course meal for the occasion while the rest of them were bringing up the boxes.

“This is really good, thank you, Alfred,” Danny thought Jazz would be pleased that he’d remembered to use his manners.

“Of course, Master Danny,” Alfred nodded pleasantly.

“You have tomorrow off, Danny, to get settled here in the manor. But you’ll start school on Tuesday,” Bruce explained.

“Right, school,” Danny wilted slightly in remembrance of having to start a new school. An prestigious academy for Gotham’s elite no less. Sam had looked it up for him. He wouldn’t have his friends but then there wouldn’t be any ghosts there either.

“Not a fan?” Dick teased.

“Eh,” Danny shrugged.

Tim snorted. “Gotham Academy isn’t too bad as far as schools go. They have great-accelerated programs. You won’t be bored.”

“Right, accelerated,” Danny’s hands twitched.

Even in the short amount of time he’d known them it was apparent they were all geniuses. Danny knew he wasn’t stupid exactly but school had never been his forte even before the ghosts started interrupting everything.

“They’ll help you get caught up to wherever you need to be. I’m sure you were in a different place in the curriculum at Casper High,” Bruce soothed, somehow knowing exactly the right thing to say to ease Danny’s nerves.

Danny felt his muscles unclench. He really hoped he didn’t make an idiot out of himself.

“ _Casper_ High? In _Amity_ Park? Really?” Stephanie chuckled.

“Yup,” Danny grinned. The irony of it all had not escaped the residents of Amity Park. 

“So tell us more about yourself, Danny,” Barbara smiled at him.

“Um, not much to tell, I guess,” Danny shrugged. “I had a pretty normal life.”

“For someone who grew up with a portal to another dimension in their basement,” Bruce dropped the bomb.

There was spluttering and questions as there often were when someone new learned about Danny’s life. Eyes darted to Bruce to see if he was being serious. Sometimes Danny forgot about how weird having a ghost portal was. Everyone in Amity Park knew about Danny’s parents’ obsession even before the ghosts started attacking.

Also, now that Danny knew about Desiree’s wish spell around the town he wondered how much his new housemates would be able to accept. Believing in ghosts was difficult enough but when there was an actual spell preventing them from doing so? Danny wouldn’t hold his breath from them doing much more than humoring him.

“Another dimension?” Tim demanded, eyes wide when Bruce assured them all that he was being serious.

“I saw it with my own eyes,” Bruce stated.

Everyone’s eyes shot to Danny with varying degrees of shock. Did that mean Bruce still believed what he saw in Fenton Works? Now that Bruce had been in Amity Park and seen ghosts would the spell still affect him like everyone else? Or would he slowly forget, and once again believe ghosts weren’t real? Danny really should have looked in to Vlad’s wish a little more.

Of course with everyone’s attention on him he got nervous and began to ramble. “Yeah, my parents built a portal to the Ghost Zone. But it’s kind of misleading its not really a place for dead people’s spirits. It’s more of a place between places you know? Not that my parents really care about the distinction.”

“How long have you had it?” Barbara asked.

“Uh, almost three years I think. It didn’t even work at first it wasn’t until I—”

Danny cut off abruptly. He could feel himself pale as he remembered the…Pain…Fear…Dying. Why did he have to think about that? It was two years ago. His body shuddered and Danny barely kept himself from sinking through his chair and into the floor.

“Until you what?” Bruce commanded.

Danny flashed a grin. “Uh, nothing just had to remind them to turn it on.”

“Then what happened?” Dick prompted.

Danny told them about all the ghosts coming through, and a few notable attacks on the town. It was obvious they didn’t believe him but they all listened politely and asked questions. Well, all of them but Damian who scoffed and muttered disparaging comments under his breath after Danny’s intelligence and sanity.

After dinner everyone went their own way. Danny was grateful for the time alone. He couldn’t remember the last time he spent that much time with a group of unfamiliar people. The answer was probably Kindergarten. Amity Park was a small town. Everyone knew everyone else, and Danny had rarely left its borders.

He called his parents, Jazz, and Sam and Tucker to check in, and let them know he’d made it safely to Gotham. Of course they all asked him how things were going. Danny reassured them everything was fine. Honestly it was too early to tell how things were going.

Bruce, Alfred, Barbara, and Dick were all welcoming. Tim and Stephanie were a little distant but friendly. Then there was Danny’s biological brother. It was clear for all to see that Damian hated Danny’s guts, and wanted nothing to do with him.

Danny wasn’t really sure what to do about that. Damian obviously felt threatened. But Danny didn’t know how to reassure the younger boy. He supposed he could treat the younger boy like a ghost. Danny would be understanding of his quirks until the boy pushed him too far, and Danny was forced to stand up for himself.

Danny eyed his various boxes and bags of belongings strewn about his new room.

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen,” he muttered.

Danny took advantage of his new ensuite and state of the art bathroom. He showered, put his pajamas on, and then flopped down in the huge and comfortable bed. Within moments he was out like a light.


End file.
